A Second Life: Chapter 7

Aislinn could feel the bed shaking. She frowned in her sleep and tried to ignore it, but she heard a very worried voice.

"Come on! Wake up! This is important!"

Aislinn slowly opened her eyes. She was greeted by the sight of a shirtless Once-ler, still laying on his back, with his mouth slightly opened. She would have giggled, but the face of the fuzzy orange creature jumping up and down on the bed, made her stop.

"Come on Beanpole!" the Lorax said urgently. "Wake up!"

Aislinn sat up in the bed, looking concerned.

"Lorax, what's wrong?" she asked.

The Lorax jerked in surprise and looked at Aislinn; a look of relief washing over his fuzzy face.

"Thank God you're up!" he said, stopping his jumping. "I've been trying to wake up Beanpole, but I seemed to have woken you up instead."

Aislinn rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Why were you trying to wake up Once-ler?" she asked, holding back a yawn.

She looked around to see what time it was, and then she remembered that Once-ler's clock was broken. Aislinn muttered under her breath and looked out the window. It was still dark outside, but she didn't know how long they had been asleep. It only felt like a few hours at the most.

"We've got a major problem!" the Lorax cried. "His crazy family is cutting down the trees!"

Aislinn was instantly awake.

"What?" she hissed, jumping out of the bed.

"They are cutting the Truffula trees down!" the Lorax repeated. "I can't stop them! They just shove me out of the way!"

Aislinn ran her hand through her hair, cursing under her breath.

"I'll stop them," she said, walking to the door of the tent and flinging it open.

"Aislinn wait!" the Lorax shouted after her. "You can't do that by yourself!"

"Watch me," Aislinn dared, darting out the door and into the night.

The Lorax groaned in frustration. Pipsqueak climbed up on the bed beside the Lorax and gave a whimper of concern.

"It'll be OK," the Lorax said. "Try and wake Beanpole up while I go after her."

With that, the Lorax jumped off the bed and out the door.

Pipsqueak looked around for something to wake Once-ler up with. He then remembered that water was what finally woke Once-ler up in the river. Maybe that would work now!

Pipsqueak saw a glass of water on a small nightstand by Once-ler's bed. He crawled over to the glass and carefully picked it up. Then Pipsqueak stood beside Once-ler's head and dumped the nearly full glass of water on Once-ler's face.

Once-ler was awake instantly.

He shot up in the bed, coughing and sputtering. Once-ler looked and saw Pipsqueak grinning in triumph at him.

"What was that for buddy?" Once-ler asked, very confused.

Pipsqueak jumped off the bed and ran to the open door and franticly pointed outside. Once-ler frowned and got out of bed and peered out the door, his face paled at the sight in front of him.

Aislinn was in a yelling match with his mother not too far from the family's RV and his great-aunt, great-uncle and his older brothers were chopping trees down. The Lorax was running between the four people, trying to stop them, but failing. Once-ler then saw Isabella discreetly motion at Bret and Chet. They looked at each other then hesitantly nodded, then started sneaking up behind Aislinn. Once-ler began walking out of the tent when he saw his mother glare and nod at his brothers. Bret and Chet hesitated again for a moment but then Bret chopped a Truffula tree that was right behind Aislinn and Chet pushed it toward her. Aislinn was still yelling at Isabella and didn't notice the tree falling toward her.

Once-ler shouted a warning and began running toward Aislinn. She turned to look at Once-ler and saw he was frantically pointing behind her. Aislinn looked confused but turned to look behind her; she froze, her eyes widening in fear.

Isabella smirked and quickly moved out of the way of the falling Truffula tree.

Right before the tree hit Aislinn's head, she felt something grab her right arm and jerk her to the side. Aislinn yelped as her fingers on her left hand grazed the bark of the tree, and she realized she was miraculously pulled out of the path of the falling Truffula tree. Aislinn felt arms wrap around her as she started to tremble. She slowly looked up and saw Once-ler's slightly pale yet worried face looking down at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking her over for any injuries.

Aislinn could only nod; her body trembling more and more. Once-ler glared at his mother, who had a look of disgust and shock on her face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Once-ler demanded.

Isabella's face twisted anger in a matter of seconds.

"I want all of these trees gone!" she spat. "I want to make your Thneeds and have all the money and fame!"

Once-ler was getting angry. His family was willing to do all of this? Just for money? He was beginning to see what his family really was. Greedy. And they had fooled him before with their kind words and praises when he was getting rich and famous because of his Thneeds.

Then it hit him.

His Thneeds. That was what was causing all of this. Once-ler knew what he had to do.

"Then you don't have to worry about cutting anymore trees down," he said. "Because I'm not going to make anymore Thneeds!"

Everyone froze.

"Once you can't do that!" Aislinn said, finally finding her voice again, even though there was a slight tremble in it. "That's your dream!"

Once-ler shook his head.

"It's not worth all of this," he said. "I'll use the money I have now to help you, your family, the animals, and even the valley."

Aislinn felt her gold eyes fill with tears.

"And I will not help any of you," Once-ler addressed his family. "As of this moment I am done with all of you. You are pretty much dead to me now."

Once-ler's family looked stunned. Isabella's face was twisted in anger and her eyes became wide and wild looking. She suddenly reached in her purse and pulled out a handgun. Once-ler instinctively pulled Aislinn closer and slightly behind him. Aislinn gasped and wrapped her arms around one of Once-ler's arms. Grizelda, her husband, Bret and Chet backed away from Isabella in fear. They never dreamed Isabella would go this far.

"You will not ruin my life again!" Isabella shrieked.

"Again?" Aislinn asked. "What has Once-ler ever done to you?"

Isabella's eye twitched and she cocked the gun.

Once-ler's grip on Aislinn tightened.

"He ruined everything for me!" Isabella hissed, her eyes flashing in fury. "My family was the most wealthy and powerful family in the area! I was happily married, had Bret and Chet and anything I wanted I got! Even if it was someone's head served on a silver platter!"

Aislinn shuttered at the thought.

"Then your stupid father had to come into town!" Isabella spat, pointing the gun at Once-ler. "He was nice to me, he was a dreamer just like you, and he knew how to charm a girl. Soon I had fallen for him and had an affair with him. Then you were born! I was hoping to cover it up, but my family found out. Your father left town, I was divorced, disowned, and cursed to live a horrible life! And it was because your father made me have you!"

Aislinn frowned.

"Oh get over yourself!" she said. "It wasn't Once-ler's fault! You were a grown woman, you had a choice and you made one!"

Isabella bared her teeth and pulled the trigger. Aislinn felt a burning pain on her right arm. She yelped and grabbed her arm. Once-ler shouted Aislinn's name.

"I'm alright," Aislinn said, showing him her arm. "It just grazed me."

Once-ler saw a red line on Aislinn's arm. He couldn't believe his mother just shot Aislinn!

"Now give me the plans on how to make your Thneed's," Isabella said.

Once-ler glared at his mother.

"I don't have them," he said.

"Liar!" Isabella shouted.

She cocked the gun again and fired, the dirt in front of Once-ler and Aislinn went flying into the air.

"Give me the plans!" Isabella shrieked, cocking the gun again.

"I don't have them!" Once-ler answered. "I do it all from memory!"

"Then teach me!" Isabella demanded.

Once-ler gripped Aislinn even tighter.

"I won't," Once-ler said.

Isabella's eye twitched again, and Once-ler thought he saw a vein pop out in her forehead. Isabella pointed the gun at Once-ler. He panicked and stepped away from Aislinn, not wanting her to get hurt anymore than she already was. Isabella followed Once-ler with the gun.

"I'm going to ask one more time," she said, fury dripping from every word. "Teach me. Or I'll make you pay dearly, Oncie."

Once-ler stopped about three feet away from Aislinn.

"I won't teach you," Once-ler said, glaring defiantly at his mother.

Something seemed to snap inside Isabella.

"Wrong answer!" she said, glancing over at Aislinn.

Once-ler saw it and felt all the color drain from his face. His mother wanted him to move away from Aislinn so she had a clear shot! Aislinn was Isabella's target to begin with! Once-ler scrambled toward Aislinn, and at the same time Isabella swung the gun to face the girl. She saw Isabella's wide crazy eyes and the insane smirk plastered on her face. Aislinn closed her eyes, not wanting that to be the last thing she saw before to died.

"AISLINN!" Once-ler shouted.

*BANG*